How many species are we losing to extinction each year? A recent documentary suggested 5000 per year for the last three years. I have been taken to task on this assertion in another forum and would like to know if it is correct.

http://www.livescience.com/history/07111...

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?i...

http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=...

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/b...

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/b...

http://www.newsoxy.com/global_warming_bl...



http://www.china.org.cn/environment/news...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/natio...

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/03...

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/129...

http://www.americanchronicle.com/article...

http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008...

Wow, Hazim, great question. I don%26#039;t have an answer but some of the people who have tried to have really stunk up the place. There are absolutely species going extinct every day, and others just being found. Good luck.

Starting approximately 100,000 years ago, and coinciding with an increase in the numbers and range of humans, species extinctions have increased to a rate unprecedented since the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event.[4] This is known as the Holocene extinction event and is at least the sixth such extinction event. Some experts have estimated that up to half of presently existing species may become extinct by 2100.

up to 20 percent of all living populations could become extinct within 30 years (by 2028).
Biologist E. O. Wilson estimated [5] in 2002 that if current rates of human destruction of the biosphere continue, one-half of all species of life on earth will be extinct in 100 years.[21] More significantly the rate of species extinctions at present is estimated at 100 to 1000 times %26quot;background%26quot; or average extinction rates in the evolutionary time scale of planet Earth;

hope dis helps!

None - there are no species that have gone extinct in over 5 years.

Quite the opposite is happening. There are more species being discovered almost every day.

You%26#039;re right,especially the Bengal tigers.There%26#039;re only about 200 examples left.There could be more than 5000 species are dissappeared.Now the dolphins.There%26#039;re already people who are swept away by wars and famine.

Since we have no idea what the true rate of extinction has been in the past, there is no way to gauge whether or not the rate is increasing or deacreasing. Scientists are constantly identifying new species, but since identification of prehistoric species is dependent upon scattered fossil records, making any comparison of today%26#039;s rates with historical rates is no more than wild guesswork. Exinction is a function of evolution. Without extinction, there would be no progression of species. It%26#039;s a simple, sad fact of life.